Comments from “Plugged-In” Readers

I assume the buyers in November were trying to get out in front of the additional fees that get tacked onto mortgages, perpetually starting today, in exchange for 60 whopping days worth of reduced social security tax payments, driving up the costs of loans.
Incomes are falling at a fairly dramatic rate, so I can only assume this was a speed up to avoid the higher fees on loans.
From today’s personal income report:
“Private wage and salary disbursements decreased $7.1 billion in November, in contrast to an increase
of $37.2 billion in October. Goods-producing industries’ payrolls decreased $6.7 billion, in contrast
to an increase of $8.6 billion; manufacturing payrolls decreased $6.9 billion, in contrast to an increase
of $6.8 billion. Services-producing industries’ payrolls decreased $0.3 billion, in contrast to an
increase of $28.5 billion. Government wage and salary disbursements increased $0.1 billion in
November, the same increase as in October.”http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/pi/pinewsrelease.htm
Wages took a big hit. People are losing high paying jobs and taking lower paying jobs. That makes the unemployment rate look like it’s improving, but obviously incomes are not improving. Therefore, the increase was likely driven by the mortgage fees.

yes, a bunch of people closed on houses in november to get in front of a fee that no one heard about until it was proposed in early December. What I want to know is why didn’t any of these people say something about this fee so that the real estate lobbiests and the wall street journal could have started complaining about it sooner then December 8th to 10th?
Perhaps there should be an investigation because clearly a bunch of people were using non-public information to buy houses.

Tipster: “Wages took a big hit.”
In October wages increased $37.2 Billion. In November “wages took a big hit” and decreased $7.1 billion. Two month net is a “big hit” of $30.1 billion increase in wages.
Two month net increase is $30.1 Billion, Tipster’s spin = “incomes are not improving”, “Incomes are falling at a fairly dramatic rate”
I wish my income “fell” at that rate over two months.

Wow, I just read the report Tipster linked and I have to applaud Tipster for having huge balls. I think I also figured out who Tipster is, he is the same person that wrote that Romney ad that pulled Obama’s McCain quote out of context.
First line of the report: “Personal income increased $8.5 billion, or 0.1 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI)
decreased $5.0 billion, or less than 0.1 percent, in November”
So Tipster cherry-picks the ‘wage’ portion, ignoring that overall incomes increased in the month, and also characterizes it as falling at a “dramatic rate” when the fact is that it means on average all workers salery fell about $45 bucks after increasing $231 the month before. Incomes have risen in four of the last five months. The “rate” of the November decrease in wages is likely in the area of a decrease of 0.1% or 0.2%, but overall income was still up in November by 0.1.

Tipster’s gone from a fairly interesting poster on here to an absolute cartoon. No doubt he/she has got to be the ultimate downer at any cocktail party.
Never come across a person who wants everything to suck so bad.

One in six Americans is receiving help from the government, just as fiscal austerity threatens to reduce some of that aid.

Soaring unemployment during The Great Recession has driven tens of millions of people to the dole. Enrollment in Medicaid and food stamp programs are at record highs, while unemployment insurance rolls remain at elevated levels. Many people depend on more than one program…The number of people in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as food stamps, hit a record 44.2 million in January. That’s up 4.7 million from the prior year…one in seven Americans receive food stamps, the highest share of the population ever to do so…Still, one in three people who are eligible for food stamps is not receiving them.

Emphasis added. So that’s why you’re not going to see bread lines, but the fact that bread lines aren’t widely visible doesn’t mean that people aren’t suffering. We’ve made some progress since the thirties.

You have ever been a herald of woe. Troubles follow you like crows, and ever the oftener the worse … Here you come again! And with you come evils worse than before, as might be expected. Why should I welcome you, Gandalf Stormcrow? Tell me that.